Marseille? I live near Marseille and I wouldn't put it in the "best" list. It certainly has some personality, and they certainly worked a lot making it look ni

Marseille? I live near Marseille and I wouldn't put it in the "best" list. It certainly has some personality, and they certainly worked a lot making it look nicer in the last decade, but let's say it is not particularly clean and crime rate is high for France. As for walking, like most European cities, it is walkable, but there are still a lot of motor vehicles, and traffic laws tend to be open to interpretation. Mopeds in particular can be loud, run red light and take shortcuts through walkways. The author mentions hashish, and it is spot on, because that's where you find it, especially in "quartiers nords", the ghetos of Marseille. And then, if you want to visit Marseille, there is the problem of getting there, as with most large cities, lots of traffic and not much parking place, and mass transit Marseille is usable but it is far from the best in France. Now to be fair, it is not as bad as I make it, and the author description is a good one. I am just surprised to find it in a top list for walking cities. Now if you are visiting Marseille, I also recommend Aix-en-Provence. It is the wealthy sister of Marseille, if is a nicer, smaller city, good for walking, and there is a bus line between the two. Of course, it is also less diverse, so do both if you have time.